source: Joaquin Henson | philstar.com

Talk n Text and Purefoods, among teams finishing with above .500 percentage mark in the first round, take on separate opponents to start their second-round campaigns in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup elimination phase at the Araneta Coliseum today.

The Tropang Texters face the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 5 p.m., hoping to duplicate their 85-76 win in their previous tiff, then the Giants play the Coca-Cola Tigers at 7:30 p.m., looking to avenge a 79-93 defeat in their initial meeting.

“From hereon, every game is a big game as teams jockey for prime position. That’s how we’re approaching the game against Rain or Shine,” said TnT coach Chot Reyes.

“We ended the first round on a high note, winning against Sta. Lucia. We are determined to start strong in the second round and get our first back-to-back wins in the conference,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

The Texters start the second round with a 6-3 win-loss carryover card while the Giants are tied with the SLR Realtors at 5-4, Rain or Shine at 2-7 and Coca-Cola in the bottom with at 1-8.

The Giants breached the .500 mark in the first round as they won their first match, lost the second then went on a win-loss-win-loss ride till the end.

Purefoods limited its opponents to an average of 78 points in its five won games and gave away an average of 95 points in the four games it lost.

“We must really give emphasis on defense. We must dictate the tempo and not allow Coke to get confident. Execution, taking care of the ball and free throw accuracy are other aspects we must work on to achieve stability and win consistently,” said Gregorio.

Meanwhile, Purefoods and Hormel Foods Int’l. Corp. mark their 10th year of friendship and partnership today with special commemorative activities during the Purefoods-Coca-Cola game. These include a jumpball ceremony with US Amb. Kristie Kenney, PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios, Hormel Int’l president Richard Bross and Purefoods Hormel president Francisco Alejo doing the toss.

The Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants will also wear commemorative jerseys/special uniforms and a halftime dance showdown between Purefoods’ mascot and the kids from an orphanage.

In another development, San Miguel forward Arwind Santos emerged as the statistical points (SPs) race leader after the first round of the elims, compiling 350 SPs for an average of 38.9 per outing.

Sta. Lucia’s Kelly Williams was a close second with a 38.1 average, followed by Alaska’s Willie Miller (35.6), Talk n Text’s Mark Cardona (33.4), Alaska’s LA Tenorio (31.3), Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid (30.0), Alaska’s Joe De Vance (29.6), Talk n Text’s Jimmy Alapag (29.1), San Miguel’s Dondon Hontiveros (28.6) then Ginebra’s Jayjay Helterbrand (28.4).

Purefoods’ Rico Maierhofer was No. 1 among the rookies, placing 26 overall with 23.1 SPs per game.

Undrafted rookie Joshua Urbiztondo was the surprise second with 16.2, then came Barako Bull’s Ogie Menor (14.0), Rain or Shine’s Jervy Cruz (13.6), Burger King’s Ronnie Matias (12.4) and Coca-Cola’s Chris Ross (11.9).

With the numbers he’s piling up for Smart Gilas, top pick Japeth Aguilar should have been a premier Rookie of the Year candidate had he opted to stick it out with Burger King.

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